Kubota b26 wheel spacers

[lakeside]

I have a B26 and bought a Pronovost blower when I got my tractor in 2009. I have a steep gravel driveway so I also bought V chains for the rear wheels and I've never gotten stuck. Mind they can really, really tear up pavement so if you have asphalt you don't want to go with V chains. My tractor is in a heated garage with a concrete floor so I protect the floor with 2' X 8' X 1/4" plywood sheets.

I'm about 20 minutes east of St-Sauveur so we get's lots, like three meters or more, of snow.

Early in the winter I do tend to break shear pins. After awhile, snow and ice builds up on the driveway so I no longer pick up gravel. I installed a small weather proof Pelican case on the top of the blower where I keep spare shear pins and tools need to change them. I'll probably get cussed out here but I also drilled out the shear pin hole in the PTO from 6mm to .250. I find it a lot easier to find 1/4" bolts than 6mm here in Canada. I don't think the extra .010' in diameter is a big deal.

I didn't install spacers and apart from the chains banging on the fenders a bit, there's been no issue where I felt I needed to install spacers. I also didn't ballast my tires.

I never regretted buying either the tractor and blower

 

[Lopez69]

Lakeside not far from me at all maybe 45 mins...what size blower you have for the b26? I'm think rubber chain set up for rear tires only..I've noticed it really doesn't take much to break shear pins......I'm going to be running 64" rear blower....

 

[Lopez69]

Hey Curtis..so far I haven't run into anything I couldn't do with cab being installed..moving around inside is great,lots of room..getting around with b26 is just the same as it is with out the cab installed..is tight to switch to backhoe but doable..only thing is when I'm going over bumps with seat adjusted for more comfort,it bounces me up and I always hit my head on overhead that holds the radio...I will fix something in place..other than that..absolutely freedom with cab...as for spacers I hear not only for stability but also ment to work with chains on rear so they don't rub against side....

 

[lakeside]

Lakeside not far from me at all maybe 45 mins...what size blower you have for the b26? I'm think rubber chain set up for rear tires only..I've noticed it really doesn't take much to break shear pins......I'm going to be running 64" rear blower....

I have a 46" Pronovost. I kept the blower size down because I'd just bought the tractor and I was concerned about having enough power. It's the same width as the tractor which works just fine for me. I broke all the OEM shear pins the first winter and finding 6mm shear pins was a pain. I drilled out the hole to .250" and bought a batch of 1/4" bolts from Home Depot. Big mistake! I kept breaking one or two per snowstorm. I went to Princess Auto here in Ottawa and bought Grade 5, 1/4" X 1 1/2 lg NC bolts. I now break maybe one or two a year, usually during the first snow falls when I pick up gravel.

I did learn to bring the RPMs right down before engaging the PTO. I then bring it back up. I realized I was breaking bolts soon after engaging the PTO at speed. Maybe I was weakening the bolts and they failed at a lower torque than they should have, who knows.

I'm on hilly terrain so rubber chains wouldn't work for me. I only have gravel on the driveway so tearing up asphalt isn't a problem.

BTW: There's a place on the west side of Boul Labelle in St-Jerome (just south of the intersection with Highway 333) that sells commercial grade fasteners to retail. I bought a couple of large metric bolts there for by BH bucket and they have a pretty good selection of metric and SAE nuts and bolts

I'm in St-Hippolyte, where are you?

 

[Lopez69]

Thanks for all the info..I'm on south shore of Montreal......I truly hope my b26 has enough horses to power the 64" blower..dealer told me..not a problem with it...just work slower..but honestly who's gonna go 15 mp backwards blowing snow....I don't think I will be......I always got in my head...slow n steady is fast ! ...going fast always always ends up being not soo good..things break..and when things break umm how fast will you be going now..lol........like the saying goes; when you turn your tractor on,does it return the favour !!

 

[JWR]

Couple of comments: Do you have Tractor Supply or True Value Hardware there in Quebec ? Down here in the states both of them carry a pretty good selection of bolts, both metric and SAE and grades 2, 5 and 8. I should think that NAPA auto parts up there would have them too. I have found (mainly with 4 and 5ft bush hogs on Kubotas with no slip clutches) that shear pins must be a very tight fit, almost an interference fit, in the holes. Otherwise they shear very often. Tightness of fit is almost more important than shear pin diameter.

I run a 5ft blower on my B2150 Kubota (rated 24hp but one of the older 4cyl models and it seems those older horsepowers were better horses for some reason.)

BY THE WAY my B2150 has a creeper gear which is a big help for snow blowing -- that is about my only use for the creeper gears. With the creeper you can just go as slow as you like and "let 'er rip" where in the non-creeper gears, even low gear is too fast for packed heavy snow 2 feet deep.

Anyway, I have delved into some heavily packed deep snow and never lacked for power with the 5ft rear mounted blower. I have no where near the snow you guys deal with up in Quebec (actually I like to go up your way to FIND snow for skiing!) BUT many times when I do have to use the blower it is because the area around my "cabin" has been neglected for several snowfalls and is packed with tough, heavy & often crusted snow. I've never used chains but got them for front wheels only, just in case. Mine is level ground for the snow blowing application and I found that ag tires made a huge difference compared to the turf tires I used to have on the B2150. Turf tires look great being so wide BUT the instant they spin a turn or two there is nothing but ice underneath & I am hung. Ag tires rarely have that issue, or much less anyway. My thinking is that the front chains will give me enough extra traction to avoid being stuck. Not sure that would work well on your steep driveways. At least on my B2150 there is not enough room for chains on the rear & spacers would be needed BUT you have to be careful if you have a belly mower -- if the wheels are out too far they won't clear the belly mower. Measure before you buy.

Good luck and let us know how your snow season goes.

 

[Lopez69]

Snow and ski'ing is plenty good up in the laurentians here...front chains would be a good idea thnx..I did order rear 2" spacers only..just for stability..since I do have a laurin cab on..might be top heavy,better safe than sorry..also I will check fit of shear bolts,that actually sounds like a tight fit,will help out.....will still break but not as much or easy as loose fitting shear bolt..thanks a lot....JWR

 

[goeduck]

I have a Kubota B21 and am thinking of adding spacers for stability. My house parcel is sloped up from the water and there are spots where it gets tippy. The only drawbacks that I see are taking up extra space that I do not have in my shop and my rotovator then will not cover my tracks

 

[Lopez69]

Well hello guys,been awhile since I posted..let's see where to start..cab is awesome,I recommend it..as for 64" blower..amazing..b26 handle it all and than some..we had gotten hit hard one night almost 3 feet..no problems,just slow n steady ..use mirrors to back up with this way you save your neck..shear pins..was no issue,..I hit gravel didn't break..I hit side walk,curb..breakage...ohh I didn't put spacers on back tires,but I truly need to for stability issues..due to cab..does feel more tippy..ohh with cab you have,heat,wipers,radio and lights..I didn't know that running all this at once would kill battery and it did...so lesson learned ..no radio with lights and heater on....but you do have to wear earmuffs it does get load in enclosure....I have changed bh bucket for a 24" ditch bucket..great investment..oh..I recommend getting a pair of blue tooth earphones.awesome thing..you can listen to radio and hook your phone through it or pair it,with blue tooth.call comes in,you can hear and talk with out removing earphones....that's a must!! Now I would like some info on buying and using a rotary cutter ( brush hog ) ..one for tall grass and or 1" too 3 " diameter twigs..any ideas ..??

 

[JWR]

Sure ! This type of request (brush hog recommendation) will probably get you covered up with responses. I've owned a lot of bush hogs over the last 30 years and of course have said my piece on them many times on TBN. For the B26 size tractor I recommend a 5ft hog. For brands, I like the Bush Hog brand the best because they tend to be well made AND are backed as well or better than any. I like my RD5 Bush Hog the best of the 5ft ones. For ill-defned reasons I like it better than the "Squeeler" and other models of Bush Ho9g in the same size. I was able to get one traded in to a dealer with VERY little hours on it for $1000. You should be able to find amny choices in the $1200 range. I have had a John Deere MX6 which was a great tool and never a problem with it. Also cheaper ones which I do not recommend.